Brazil v Chile: A Day at the Emirates.

It began, as most things do, with the arrival of the post. If only we knew how many incidents were set off by the arrival of some post. The envelope arrived much earlier than I expected it too, and in it lay one of the most beautifully designed graphic pieces I had seen.

As a designer, you can't help but notice good design when you see it, and likewise critique bad design when you see it. It may well be a general rule that you can extend to every profession; do something long enough and you begin to become good at it; and you begin to see where others are also doing well or not so well. And this is, in my professional opinion (such as it may be called), exceedingly well designed.

Anyway, that I say that it began with the arrival of the post actually proves the opposite. It did not begin with the arrival of the post...

It began much earlier; much more earlier indeed. As soon as I became aware of the existence of the match, that my beloved Arsenal were going to host Brazil for the 7th time in 9 years, then I decided pretty much instantly that I was going to go, and genuinely, I would go alone if need be.* And what opponents! Chile, who took Brazil all the way to penalties in the World Cup not so long ago, who were going to host the Copa America later this year, who play with this insanely high-tempo, aggressive, effervescent style... it was a wonderful pairing.

So I bought my tickets; and I was able to get some pretty good seats fairly cheaply; these would have been much more expensive were they for an Arsenal match. Add to this that I was going to watch my first ever match at the Emirates Stadium, and watch my first international friendly, well, I was buzzing for weeks.

Match-day arrived and I made my way to the Arsenal Underground station; the only stop to be exclusively named for a sports team.

A short walk later saw me at the stadium, with a fantastic atmosphere being built by lots of native supporters of both sides; I had no idea so many Chileans and Brazilians would be at the match. I was there as a pure neutral, but these guys were adding to the atmosphere, which I was most grateful for. Note the Chile flag already territorially draped over the Armoury.

I went inside early, and so got to take some pretty nice pictures of the empty stadium....

...and a few also when it was full, just before kickoff, with this my pick as players from both sides lined up for the national anthems:

Fantastic seats, yes?

I also got a programme, and again marvelled at the design and consistency. Everything matched; the programme, the ticket holder, the posters around the stadium, the menus, everything. Wow. I was impressed.

The match itself unfortunately didn't live up to the hype. An energetic Chile side harassed and harried the Brazil side and didn't allow them to settle at all. The Chileans dominated possession but were unable to do much with it, and there were tons of fouls to prevent any sort of rhythm going on. Chances were few and far between. In the second half, against the run of play, a moment of exceptional quality saw a through ball release the Brazilian Firmino to be one-on-one with the keeper. He kept his composure, rounded the keeper and coolly slotted the ball into the net. I saw that happen in front of me, and for a few moments everything really was in slow motion. The rest of the match saw Chile try to mount a comeback, but sadly nothing happened.

After the match, I went and saw the old Highbury Stadium, which, as a listed building, is not allowed to be demolished. The club kept the Art Deco facade and redeveloped the stands into residential flats; a brilliant idea.

And that's that. Fully happy with the days events (except for the match itself), I set off home, with one thing for sure in my mind; I absolutely loved watching the match live, and I want more.

inshaAllah.

With duas for you and yours.

I

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* Parenthetically, I do not understand why some of my friends think it is a sad, unsociable, lonely thing to go to the cinema alone. I am more than happy to do that, and have done so numerous times. I'd rather watch a movie that I want to see alone than watch something I don't want to in a group.